"My original body is in the hands of the Divine Emperor, used to threaten Baili Xiao."
If Bai Ran's soul were to return to her original body, Baili Xiao would not have to be coerced by the Divine Emperor and could finally be free.
Bai Ran watched him, a smile curving his lips, and said word for word, "There is a way to steal my body without shedding a single drop of blood."
After a brief exchange of whispers, Long Jinhan's smile grew warmer, and a smile couldn't be suppressed from the corners of his eyes. "Good, I'll listen to you."
Once the body was stolen, the Soul Taming Flute could be used to separate the inner demon.
Everything that followed would proceed smoothly. As long as the body where the inner demon resided was killed, Bai Ran would not be affected in the slightest.
With a large hand, he scooped Bai Ran by the waist, pulling her close to Long Jinhan. His warm breath brushed against Bai Ran's neck, making her heart flutter.
"Girl," Long Jinhan rested his head gently on her shoulder, his arm encircling Bai Ran's waist.
Bai Ran curved her lips into a smile and stroked the distinct features of his face. "You've worked hard."
Long Jinhan's eyes darkened. As her delicate little hands continued to roam, he felt his body heat up.
Bai Ran's head was gently pushed, drawing her towards the man in front of her. Long Jinhan's slender fingers pinched her chin, and he kissed her lips forcefully.
His warm tongue slid into her mouth, greedily drawing in the scent of the little girl.
The temperature in the room gradually rose, but the ancient books laid out flat suddenly emitted a blinding light.
"Rustle, rustle, rustle—"
Bai Ran's senses snapped back. She looked towards the ancient books on the table and saw them flipping on their own without anyone touching them.
Page after page turned, the sound of the ancient books flipping incredibly loud at this moment.
The two exchanged a look, their faces grave.
The books were protected by a destruction array. If exposed for too long, the array would activate and destroy the books immediately.
Bai Ran's gaze fell upon the books. She saw the ancient texts stop flipping and settle on the last page.
A line of extremely small font was inscribed in the bottom right corner of the paper.
"This book is only applicable to souls..."
But before Bai Ran could finish reading, a blazing fire erupted from the ancient book.
Flames spread rapidly, ferociously burning the fragile paper. The ancient book shriveled in the high heat, slowly turning into charcoal.
"This book is only applicable to souls..." Bai Ran's expression turned solemn. She rubbed her chin, pondering, souls for what?
Long Jinhan's face was now as dark as if water was about to drip from it. It turned out that at the end of the book, the most crucial prerequisite was recorded.
Perhaps it was the joy that clouded their minds, or perhaps no one would pay attention to the last page of the ancient book, but in any case, no one knew what those last few small words had written.
The flames extinguished, and the ancient book was reduced to a pile of charred remnants. Bai Ran picked up a piece, and residue kept falling, making it impossible to glean any information.
"Since it's an ancient book, there must be other replicas," Bai Ran frowned. "If we try it carelessly, it might backfire."
Hearing this, Long Jinhan nodded and stood up. "I will go to the library again and search."
He couldn't let the little girl be in any danger. He had to find out what those last few small words had written.
After Long Jinhan left, Shi Tian spoke from within the spatial realm.
He appeared somewhat pale, his lips devoid of color. "Master... my head hurts so much..."
His head hurt? Bai Ran moved her mind and entered the Shitian Realm.
She squatted in front of Shi Tian and placed her hand on his forehead. His temperature was normal; he didn't seem to be sick.
"In my mind... it feels like someone is talking to me..."
Shi Tian's chubby face was scrunched up, and his small hands clutched his head tightly, looking utterly miserable.
Inner demon! Bai Ran immediately thought of the inner demon. But Shi Tian was a spirit artifact; how could he, a non-human, develop an inner demon?
"Shi Tian, can you tell me what that voice said?"
The little ones from Fentian watched with worried expressions, staying quietly to the side. Bai Hu's unease grew stronger.
From the first time he met Shi Tian, he had a strange sense of fear towards him, and now this feeling was even more intense...
Shi Tian curled up on the ground, his voice weak. "Shi Tian, I am you, and you are me..."
"We are one body..."
Another Shi Tian? Bai Ran pondered. All the signs pointed to the development of an inner demon, but spirit artifacts couldn't develop inner demons.
A flash of inspiration crossed her mind, and Bai Ran's eyes widened. Could they be twin spirit artifacts?
One body, two souls. One was Shi Tian, and the other...
The first time they met, Bai Ran had already harbored some doubts. This spatial realm was clearly called the Shitian Realm, yet the spirit artifact was named Shi Tian.
Two contradictory names. Now that another voice had appeared in Shi Tian's mind, everything made sense...
"Shitian, the other soul's name is Shitian."
Bai Ran's inner demon had manifested, and Shi Tian was Bai Ran's spirit artifact. Then Shitian... was the spirit artifact of an inner demon...
A chilling sensation spread from her feet. Inner demons were essentially another self, mutually destructive and completely opposite.
Perhaps Bai Ran's inner demon's appearance had also affected Shi Tian...
Another spirit artifact had appeared...
"Shi Tian, do you control this Shitian Realm?" Bai Ran picked up Shi Tian, her heart filled with pain.
Shi Tian's small hands tightly gripped Bai Ran's robe, and he huddled in her embrace, nodding. "Yes, Master..."
The Shitian Realm was controlled by Shi Tian, who was the spirit artifact of the Shitian Realm. Then what treasure's spirit artifact was Shitian? What weapon did it control?
"It's... a very powerful offensive scythe..."
Shi Tian's head ached intensely, as if it was about to split open, but the information kept pouring out uncontrollably.
A scythe shrouded in black energy appeared in his mind.
The scythe had a curved blade and a handle as long as a person. It was named the Shi Tian Scythe.
Originally, the Shitian Bracelet was born along with the Shi Tian Scythe, and at the same time, twin spirit artifacts with the same body—Shi Tian and Shitian—were born.
But now, with Bai Ran's inner demon manifesting, the other spirit artifact, Shitian, had also appeared, beginning to contend for Shi Tian's body.
Bai Ran's eyes were filled with tenderness. They were both fighting against another version of themselves...
"Shi Tian, it's okay," Bai Ran patted the small body in her arms.
Everything would be alright. As long as her inner demon perished, the other Shitian would perish with it.
In other words, if Bai Ran's body were to be taken over by her inner demon, Shi Tian would also be occupied by Shitian, leading to the destruction of the world.
After coaxing Shi Tian to sleep, Bai Hu and the other little ones from Fentian stayed by Shi Tian's side.
Bai Ran left the spatial realm and found it was already night. She sighed in the room and walked to the window.
The carrier pigeon that had arrived long ago was nowhere to be seen.